Peter King, NBC Sports NFL Analyst

Hey, I'm Thamy Redwood, host of the podcast Beyond Black History Month. Here's reason number 568 million of why you should be listening. From in-depth reporting on the shortage of black sperm to how one house of the dragon star is dealing with online trolls who don't love seeing black dragon writers.

I can't lose sleep over that, over worrying about things that are beyond my control. Listen and subscribe to Beyond Black History Month on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Check out Fantasy Football Today, anywhere podcasts are found. When you first got wind of it and had a second to process it, take me through your thoughts on the move. In the last two years that even though he's only 26 years old, I don't know how you trade for him and think that you're going to get a guy who's going to play 1617 games every year. But I think the other side of this is that San Francisco is only paying $690,000 for him this year and next year the big money kicks in 11.8 million. I'm not sure I would want to pay him even that much. I'd rather put some of that in incentives but who knows whether McCafferty will be willing to redo the contract, we'll see. But in essence for now, the 49ers have a good weapon, an explosive player in the backfield who if he stays healthy will be a huge asset to them.

And that's the big thing, if he stays healthy Peter King, and no one knows the answer to that. Before this year, the last two years, he's only played in 10 games. When you look at this NFC West though, it's wide open. The NFC other than Philadelphia is really wide open. Do you kind of now give the edge to the 49ers to win the NFC West after this move? I gave the edge to the 49ers before this move. The only issue that I have with the Niners basically is that this past week in Atlanta, they had 11 starters on injured reserve and they had four players, starters who were hurt to the point where they couldn't play in the game, including Nick Bosa. The 49ers annually basically have some of the biggest injury problems in the NFL, and it's no exception this year. But I think when I look at the rest of the division, I don't trust the Rams. I like Seattle, but you've really got to depend on a lot of young, unproven players in Seattle, and who knows, maybe they'll keep it up.

I don't like Arizona. I think that their defense is going to let them down. I'm just not convinced that, you know, that was kind of a flukey game last night with the two pick sixes at the end of the first half. So, you know, we'll see what happens.

But I do think the 49ers are the best team in the division. If the Cardinals missed the playoffs, and I know they just extended Cliff Kingsbury through 2027, is he going to lose his job or will he be back next year because of the recent extension? I think it depends on how the season goes. If they play competitively and go 9-8 and they have some big wins, they're not going to fire them. But if they have a debacle of a year and finish 6-11, and Kyler Murray regresses, I would think that Michael Bidwill will bite the bullet and probably get rid of them. But again, that's something that you just have to wait and see what happens the rest of this year.

Peter King here with us. Getting back to the McCaffrey deal, when I was looking at it from all angles last night, I started to think about 2023 because that roster, it's loaded and there's a big quarterback decision coming. Jimmy G's a free agent. Trey Lance is going to be coming back from injury. And the name Tom Brady just crept into my mind. Is there any chance Brady finally gets to go to the Bay Area and play for the 49ers this offseason?

I don't see any way that happens. I mean, look, the 49ers have basically gone all in with Trey Lance. And unless there are some significant issues, health issues with Trey Lance this year, or coming into next year, he's playing quarterback for them next year, period. They're not going to fart around with Tom Brady.

I can't imagine it. And look, there is an X factor in this that we can't predict right now, and that is the health of Trey Lance. He's a mobile guy and he's got to have some legs.

He's got to have the use of his legs going forward. So we don't know that for sure right now, but I would be shocked. I mean, the time to go in on Brady for the 49ers was two and a half years ago. It's not going to be next year when he's 46. And look, I don't know what the rest of this year is going to bring Brady, but I can't imagine that the 49ers would cast their lot with him next year. We'll see, but I just can't see it. I know right now a lot of it's unpredictable, but do you feel like this is Brady's final season or does he have another year, two, three, who knows at this point, right? You know, I just don't know. I think that we can all guess and say, oh, there's no way he's going to play again. And if I had to absolutely throw a dart at the wall, that's what I'd say, but I don't have any inside knowledge of that at all. And I would doubt knowing Brady that he's absolutely made that decision now either.

So that would be my guess, but I truly don't know. Talking to Peter King, when it gets to Odell Beckham, it's kind of crazy the difference a year makes. We saw what he did last year, unfortunately gets hurt in the Super Bowl, did score a touchdown. This market you got to think is going to eventually heat up and there's got to be a lot of teams interested in maybe bringing in Odell, right?

You know, you would think so. And we'll see what happens. But most of the teams that I think would logically want to pay to bring in Odell Beckham Jr. I mean, let's say if the Packers can rebound, okay? They've got over $6 million of cap space and they're in good cap shape next year. I think it's logical to think that the Rams would still be interested if somehow they can stay in the pennant race.

Kansas City has some new cap room because of redoing Travis Kelcey's contract. But again, teams, if they really want him on their team, can find a way to make it work. My only issue with Beckham is that, look, this is a guy who, let's say you sign Odell Beckham Jr. around Thanksgiving, okay? And then you expect him to play in say the middle of December, okay?

Just remember one thing. He's only going to be 10 months removed from having major knee surgery. So how can you really count on Odell Beckham Jr. being a huge factor in the pennant race this year?

I mean, somebody's going to sign him and somebody's going to try. But look at all of the players right now. Look at J.K. Dobbins right now, okay? Now, every knee injury is different. But J.K. Dobbins, you know, 12 months after having ACL surgery, basically wasn't ready to start the season.

Played, I don't know, maybe three games and now today he's having more surgery on the knee. So, and again, every injury is different. But I don't know how today, right now, you can say, let's go sign Odell Beckham Jr. and he's going to be a huge factor for us like week 17, week 18 in the playoffs. I mean, Parcells used to say, they don't sell insurance for that stuff and I don't think they do in this case. That's why I think Buffalo would be a perfect fit.

Like, you don't have to ask him to do too much and it makes sense for both parties now. It's not going to be Odell being a number one wide receiver because you got Diggs and you got Gabe Davis there, but you have the Von Miller connection. There's been a lot of talk there. I kind of like Buffalo for Odell. Well, consider this. I looked that up last weekend when Von Miller, I was in Kansas City for that game and Von Miller said he really wants to, he really wants the Bills to sign Odell.

He really thinks it would be a great fit for two months or whatever it would be. And so I looked at it and the Buffalo Bills are, have the third smallest cap space in the league this year, right now. And they are negative on the cap for 2023.

Of course, you can redo contracts. I get it. But the Bills have a lot of people they need to pay and I'm not sure they think they're going to need Odell Beckham Jr. We'll see, obviously. I just, for some reason, I tend to think that a team like Kansas City, which might need a little bit more explosiveness outside, would be a better candidate for him.

But we'll see. Wrapping up with Peter King, the NFC East has become really compelling. I think they're going to get three teams in the playoffs this year. Eagles are 6-0, Cowboys are 4-2. That was kind of expected that both those teams would be competing for the NFC East, but the Giants have come out of nowhere. Are you buying this playoff push, especially with how the schedule shapes out for the Giants already at 5-1? Well, you know, obviously the Giants, you know, in the next, they sandwich their buy around Jacksonville, Seattle, Houston, and Detroit. Now, Jacksonville could beat them this weekend. Seattle definitely could beat them next weekend. But they've got Houston and Detroit at home, and I'd be surprised if they don't win those two. But look, I think the way that you look at it if you're the Giants, defense travels.

You know, everybody said, oh my God, Daniel Jones, how is this happening and everything? You're winning with your defense. You know, you saw it last week against Lamar Jackson where Kavon Thibodeau made a great play at the end of the game to really ice that game. And the bigger thing in that game, I think, is they continue to get incredible play from that defensive front. So, you know, they don't make it easy for any offense to breathe. So they're going to be in a lot of games. I don't know necessarily that they're going to be good enough on offense to make big plays in fourth quarters of big games.

We'll see, but I think Philadelphia is clearly, without question, the class of that division. Two more with Peter King before we let him run. You've seen a lot of football. You covered this game for a long time, Peter. The first six weeks so far of Nathaniel Hackett and Russell Wilson has just been a disaster.

What's your read and your observations on it so far? Well, first of all, you know, Russell Wilson now has hamstring issues, so this is probably a moot point. But it was a major mistake for the Denver Broncos and Russell Wilson to not incorporate running into his game. That was one of the things that always made him great in Seattle. And yet, in the first five weeks of this season, other than three kneel downs, he only ran it 14 times. Almost every one of those was when he's pushed out of the pocket by pressure from a pass rush. So, you know, that was a big mistake to make him just a pocket passer. That's number one. I think number two is I don't like how Nathaniel Hackett has not had answers for new ways to make that offense go.

You know, what have you seen? Like Mike Kafka in New York with the Giants has done some really smart, imaginative things from the shotgun or from the Wildcat with Saquon Barkley, which was kind of necessity being the mother of invention there. But they've done a lot of imaginative things with the Giants. I've not seen anything really imaginative with Denver, and that falls on Hackett. But I don't, especially with Russell Wilson now being hobbled with a hamstring, I don't see how they're going to get out of this.

I really don't. It feels like Hackett's going to be one and done. The question just becomes that you get rid of him in season. Sean Payton's always going to be a big name in this coaching carousel. Is Denver, to you, still an attractive job with the way that the roster's currently constructed, or does Sean maybe look elsewhere this offseason? Well, I mean, what job is going to be open? You know, Carolina's going to be open and you have to ask yourself, okay, telling Sean Payton that you can pick because, hey, look, the season ends today and they're already going through the tanking business. If the season ended today, they got the first pick in the draft. That is, imagine being able to say to Sean Payton, this is an above average year for college quarterbacks coming out in the draft. You can pick anyone you want.

That's your guy. And, you know, so that is an attractive way to look at it. But look, if Russell Wilson continues down this path this year, that's not an attractive job.

What would make that an attractive job? They're in a terrible division. I mean, a very competitive division, rather. And the quarterback might be finished.

So, I don't know. Payton would have to think, I can fix Russell Wilson, and maybe he does. And then, you know, you just don't know what's going to happen with other teams the rest of the year.

Who has a really good quarterback? Are the Chargers going to, you know, going to implode? I don't know. I just, we just don't know.

So, not knowing what jobs are going to be open and not knowing for sure that Payton would come out this year anyway, I think it's a little early to tell. Peter King, always great to catch up with you. Thanks so much for the time. You be well. Okay, thanks. How's your mental health?

I'm listening with Luke Combs. I am somebody who has struggled with anxiety a lot. A couple ways or tools, I guess you would say, to maintain my mental health is making myself aware to the things that I know I'm prone to.

Information is key for things like that and knowing what you're dealing with and how they operate. Being aware of the way your mind works in certain situations has been the most important thing for me. More at iamlistening.org. Talk saves lives. Hey, I'm Thamy Redwood, host of the podcast Beyond Black History Month.

Here's reason number 568 million of why you should be listening. From in-depth reporting on the shortage of black sperm to how one house of the dragon star is dealing with online trolls who don't love seeing black dragon riders. I can't lose sleep over that, over worrying about things that are beyond my control.

Listen and subscribe to Beyond Black History Month on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. What makes your skin crawl? No matter how absurd, I want to know. Tales without fur on them, such as rats or opossums. I'm Larry Mullins, the host of a new podcast called Your Weirdest Fears. You send me your fear. I'm just so weirded out about the texture and how they can just move around and flop. And then I go to the experts to learn how to overcome them. Listen and subscribe to Your Weirdest Fears on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts from.